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Westbrook was released by the Philadelphia Eagles in March, and, over the past couple of months, Washington was considered a likely landing spot. Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan made no secret that he coveted Westbrook, who would have given the team a solid option on third down. The team offered Westbrook a contract.

Westbrook's brother, Byron, is a Washington cornerback, and Brian Westbrook counts Redskins' quarterback Donovan McNabb among his good friends.

Without Westbrook in the fold, Redskins coaches will be paying close attention to both Ryan Torain and Keiland Williams during the next three preseason games to see who emerges as the best third-down option.

Bummer that Westbrook won't be coming here...but I gotta say that a depth chart that features Portis, LJ, and Torain is a fine consolation prize IMO...

pfunk, I don't think anyone expects "McNabb and Westbrook to pick up where they left off" per se...it would just be nice to have a reliable checkdown option for McNabb out of the backfield since he's still working with a clusterf*ck of mediocrity at the WR spot. All the better if he's already familiar with Westbrook. But it's all academic now that dude is a 49er...

having three older guys on the squad is bad enough...a fourth would be overkill...you need a young guy on the sidelines preparing for the future...especially if all the guys in front of him are portis, johnson and parker. all past their prime. so imo it's not a loss, but an opportunity to see one of those younger guys grow into perhaps the next feature back.

The Coffee retirement was the issue here. SF thought it had a 2nd string RB in Coffee. When he walked, they moved a guy up from #3 RB to #2 RB. That guy started the first preseason game for SF. On the very first play of the preseason, he loses a fumble.

"Kaiju" looks pretty cool and right up my Tokyo Alley, on second thoughts, tolerance for personal derogatory pejoratives bristles the spines of my Mohawk, particularly after a few shots of Budweiser Golden Ammo..My apologiesa to the chef..

"Best QB in the Bay Area is Jason Campbell...Alex Smith isn't very good. The SF OL is OK, they've got talent. But it's injury prone and they are starting 2 rookies."

I think the point I was making is that like with the redskins and Campbell, the niners will keep investing time in Alex Smith, and get regret and disappointment in return for all their investment.

But with all that being said, they have a rock solid defense, and could sneak off with the NFC West title as another team with offensive talent an questionable q-back play---the cards---tries to find itself.

I'd wager the NFC West might be the weakest division this season.

We skins fans should hope for a league re-alignment where we are facing the rams, niners, 'hawks, and cards all twice a year.

This will allow the younger, perhaps more "headstrong" players to develop, good..

The massive fires the Russians are experiencing (old people dropping dead in the smoke-filled street, perhaps tens of thousands will die) is exacerbated by the proximity of the fires to the Chernobyl Meltdown (have they extinguished that thing yet?? For years , all I heard was that all the fire-control robots they sent in had melted), and that the radiation spilled created a "depleted uranium" effect and made the whole area more volatile (the smoke must be radioactive, too), trees all ready to ignite...20 million Pakis homeless, US helicopters cant land in many flooded places...

Anybody notice Frank Gore's carries are going down? He's never been a workhorse, but last season he tallied 14 starts and 229 carries (16.35 per game). His lowest since he was a backup in 2005. He's still amazingly effective in terms of yards per attempt and as a receiver, but a team that wants to run is going to need more backs than Frank to get through a season. A glance at their roster reveals that with Coffee's retirement, their next most productive RB had 3, count'em 3, carries last season.

Ceratto gambled that his aging O-line would hold up, and one by one the house of cards fell down. First, the old stars on the O-line got hurt. Second, the backups weren't legit (I'm looking at you, Heyer--and Williams after he lost 100 lbs). Third, the #1 RB couldn't survive behind the crappy O-line--out for the season. The #1 TE (2nd best reciever on the team)--out for the season. The #2 RB (recently signed with the Saints, by the way) couldn't survive behind the crappy O-line--out for the season.

But sure, the only guy who took the punches and showed up for every game is the weakest link in some minds.

I don't mind a good mix of vets, but the team is still too old. No way McNabb lasts the season.

Westbrook will get hard a couple times in the first couple games and will go out with another concussion which will end his season and this time his career. these guys with concussion syndrome never heal completely and each shot they take makes them more and more brittle, like eggshell head brittle. plus with all the current "worry" about head inj's I count BW's remaining career in months rather than years. so glad they didn't waste any $ or time on him here.

Back to the glorious nation's capital after 4 days on Lake Michigan. Missed the game but it was well worth it..just catching up on the analyses and recaps, thanks for all the thoughts. Anyone wanna share their sleepers, top performers and disappointments from the tilt? Thanks all, looking forward to Sat.

"The coaches are in love with Banks....I love him too, but he won't be able to give us anything at wide reciever."

I dunno.

I'd rather have B Banks get the occasional long return than progress as a receiver.

The skins need a 'field-flipper' like Banks.

Speed and dynamic play ability in the return game is essential in the modern NFL: who let's that slip onto the practice squad because a guy is not Jerry Rice, jr.?

Any guy who can shorten fields with returns or 'take it to the house' from time to time is equal, in may book, to a number 2-3 receiver who catches 55 passes.

Let's make space for T Austin (another blazer) and B Banks: we did for 3 years for 2 young'ns who've yet to show a return for their draft slots:

Devin Thomas

Malcolm Kelly

Posted by: MistaMoe | August 16, 2010 5:45 PM | Report abuse

totally agree. IMO it seems like the disparity in terms of his ability as a "field flipper/game changer" > disparity in production from the candidates vying for the 3rd/4th WR spot. really hope we make room on the roster for this kid.

I need to see more of Banks before I am 100% sold, but the thought of him on the roster is intriguing. A return man who can create a big difference in field position is a boon to any team. I think he could be a game changer at WR while only being used sparingly in that role. Especially late in the halfs when the seconary might be a little worn out. I'd bet he'd also be dangerous on a reverse. Physical CBs could make it difficult for him to get off the line quickly and cleanly though.

Beating dead horses is highly underrated. I find it therapeutic:When his final series got rolling, the top nickel unit came back for a fourth-and-1 and Campbell's pass sailed way over his target, tight end Zach Miller.Campbell finished 7 of 13 for 49 yards. He converted only one third down out of six. He was sacked only once and didn't have a turnover. He indoctrinated himself as a Raiders QB by throwing deep twice, once down each sideline; the first was broken up by a rookie free agent, the other was caught out of bounds.

The correct reaction to this snippet is:
(a) po - TAY - to, po - TAH - to
(b) it's that he's learning a new offense
(c) I couldn't see that one coming
(d) all of the above

"Best QB in the Bay Area is Jason Campbell...Alex Smith isn't very good..."

The QB "Battle in the Bay" I am seeing people post about which seeks to answer the question: "Who will be better this year: Alex Smith, or Jason Campbell?" is really not that important to me given that Campbell is an ex-Redskin.

Honestly, I don't care who is a better QB, I just hope that Jason Campbell breaks his leg.

The JC lovers are going to have to just admit that Campbell doesn't have the temperament or mental ability (not necessarily IQ) to be a starting QB. He won't ever catch on, and we will have wasted hundreds of hours talking about a mediocre back-up like Todd Collins or Jason Garrett. I don't want to tell people what to talk about, it's just so irritating; deliberate on thing that might matter.

The QB "Battle in the Bay" I am seeing people post about which seeks to answer the question: "Who will be better this year: Alex Smith, or Jason Campbell?" is really not that important to me given that Campbell is an ex-Redskin.

Honestly, I don't care who is a better QB, I just hope that Jason Campbell breaks his leg.

The JC lovers are going to have to just admit that Campbell doesn't have the temperament or mental ability (not necessarily IQ) to be a starting QB. He won't ever catch on, and we will have wasted hundreds of hours talking about a mediocre back-up like Todd Collins or Jason Garrett. I don't want to tell people what to talk about, it's just so irritating; deliberate on thing that might matter.

Posted by: monkeymayonaise

Wishing a guy to break his leg? Aside from being sick, we do get a good draft pick if Campbell does well. Thing is, for JC, the new team is a lot like the old team. Bad OL, even worse WRs, a good TE, unreliable RBs and a questionable HC.

Wow, I'm glad I'm not on here overnight...Brandon Banks compared to Bin Laden and some idiot trying to revive the JC debate. Sleep continues to be the right plan...

Personally, I wanted Westbrook...dude would bring a skill set that not only would help in this offense, but it differs from the other guys on the roster. But we'll be just fine with Portis, LJ, and Torain (so long as Portis stays healthy--LJ's awful blocking will get McNabb killed).

Not to mention, PFT says that Antonio Bryant may be the odd man out in Cincy now that they've got TO and a host of young receivers. I don't want him here, but it'll be interesting to see if Allen kicks his tires if DT doesn't make a move up the depth chart...

TE Fred Davis. More consistent than Sunday when he dropped three balls but grabbed several passes. I love the play in which he runs across the field, away from where the QB is rolling; QB stops and throws back to a wide-open Davis. Love the misdirection. And, yes, he caught a ball on that play today. Ran right past Chris Draft down the middle for another catch; just speed.

DE Vonnie Holliday. To say he owned Edwin Williams today was putting it mildly. Holliday still looks like he has something left, though he’s mostly worked vs. backups. Still, he has a good first step and it shows. On consecutive plays, he got Williams to lunge once and then off-balance on the second, leaving his head down and Holliday at the quarterback.

DL Darrion Scott. To say he owned Selvish Capers is putting it mildly. Scott got into his pads and then slowed up so he wouldn’t kill the quarterback. On the next play, he got the edge vs. Capers and would have had a sack. Later, he showed Chad Rinehart back and followed that up by beating Capers again.

LB London Fetcher. Sometimes, it’s just fun to watch the guy. Not because he’s the best ever, but because he plays hard all the time and even in practice has a hunger to make a tackle. Saw that on a play in which he scraped along the line, but was stumbling a little because he’d been hit. Still, he kept going, never lost balance and lunged at Willie Parker. The hit caused a fumble. And his coverage has been good; had Chris Cooley covered on one route down the middle, forcing an errant pass.

LB H.B. Blades: His most active practice. Forced a Willie Parker fumble with one hit, stripped Fred Davis after a catch and then filled the hole nicely on a Larry Johnson run for a stop.

C Casey Rabach: Handled himself well vs. Maake Kemoeatu and steered him where he wanted to go; sometimes it was right into a double team. Rabach helped create a couple nice openings, including one for Johnson.

DE Phillip Daniels. Going against second-teamers, Daniels showed his strength. He seems to have a second gear for power. Once, the QB rolled away from Daniels so he held his ground. The minute the QB started working his way back to that side, Daniels simply overpowered Stephon Heyer. This came a play or two after he had powered Heyer back followed by the same thing of Will Montgomery. Daniels and Adam Carriker are suited for this defense.

NG Maake Kemoeatu. Got moved around a bit too much today. For a big guy, he doesn’t always seem to play with as much power as some other linemen. But his job is more or less to eat space and he does that fine. Still, the O-line moved him out of some holes and it resulted in good runs.

LT Selvish Capers. Well, if you read the studs part first you know why he’s on this list. Not a good day by the rookie. Allowed Holliday to get into his pads a bit too much and he did not set quick enough, either.

G Edwin Williams. Was a bit off; lunged a couple times and dropped his head on at least one pass protection, leading to more troubles. Williams played well vs. Buffalo, but he was not impressive this morning.

RB Keiland Williams. His problem at LSU? Fumbles. What did he do this morning when hit by H.B. Blades? Fumble.

WR Brandon Banks. Beat Ramzee Robinson on a go-route, but had Richard Bartel’s pass slip through his arms. Looked like he could have caught the ball. Earlier, attempting to block Justin Tryon, he was thrown to the ground. I’ll have a little more on him in my notes/analysis.

PR Terrence Austin. He dropped two punts in a row, both times he had to move a little bit to catch them. He’s shown good hands during training camp, but this was a rough day.

RG Chad Rinehart. Seeing too many guys muscle him back, whether it was Phillip Daniels or Jeremy Jarmon or, really anyone. Jarmon stunted once to his hole and moved him back far enough that Richard Bartel could not step up and to throw. It resulted in a weak pass that Robert Henson knocked down.

LB Chris Draft: Just doesn’t look as fluid in coverage and does not move as athletically as the other linebackers. His strength is special teams, but he still needs to show he could possibly help at LB. Today, he was beaten right off the line by Davis, who never attempted a fake. He just ran past him.

Thank God he signed with the 49ers. I would hate to see one of my favorite Eagles in those Racist Uniforms. Oh Yeah, forgot, Little Danny says it honors Native Americans. His tall Blonde Girlfriend loves that kind of talk.

When I saw that Coffee was going to become a man of the cloth, and Betts had signed with the Saints, I had a feeling that either Westbrook was headed west or Parker would be traded west if Westbrook wanted to be a Redskin.

Keep both Ryan and Williams. Parker has a history of getting hurt and missing a lot of games. He did the Steelers little good sitting on the bench.
Westbrook..here..it was a joke! We have a ton of backs old and new...he has had multiple concussions, and is old for a running back to boot..one more C, and he should be finished.

westbrook chose a young team on the rise over this hot mess of over 30 club run by comittee. hey, philly fleeced the skins over mcchicken, believe me, these guys know something and if they live through the first few series against Balt, and don't get pimp clubbed by the jets 1st teamers in the regular season warm up, i will reverse my feelings. as of now, this is bum street straight up.